It Shouldn't Happen To A Casting Director #1

Nudity Required... Those are my two least favorite words on a breakdown! Casting any kind of nudity is always awkward and tricky. I once cast a film that required a female character to go topless. The actress we liked for the role agreed to the partial nudity but she wanted to use fake nipples so she didn’t "feel" naked. The producer agreed to it as long as she came in and showed us how they looked before she got to set. So she met the producer (male) and the casting directors (me and my casting partner, both female) in the casting office for approval.

She wore a prosthetic nipple on one breast and showed us the contrast to her natural nipple on the other. She even bounced around so we could see that it wouldn't fall off. I know what you guys are thinking, sounds like a really tough job, right? Well it is. Even the producer (a guy remember?) was uncomfortable. The only person who seemed comfortable with the whole thing, was the actress, who then peeled the fake nipple off and stuck it to the top of my glass desk like a suction cup. The prosthetic nipple looked exactly the same as the real one, so the producer okayed it for the shoot.


LESSON: It’s all fun and games until someone sticks a prosthetic nipple to your desk.

Seriously though, casting naked people is a tricky subject. Dear, dear actor and actress friends, please don’t take your clothes off for just anyone! Do your homework about the people you're auditioning for before you go in! I'm horrified when I hear stories about these things. I can’t believe they still happen in this day and age! If you don’t feel safe, DON’T DO IT!

When you first audition, you should not have to take your clothes off. If you're one of our top choices, we'll probably have you come back in so that we can make sure you don’t have any offensive tattoos or something like that, however, we will inform you well before you come in what is required of you. If it makes you uncomfortable, you can always pass on the project. Sometimes it’s just not worth it.

Think long and hard about nudity because those nude screenshots will haunt you for the rest of your life.


Michelle Levy casts movies, writes stuff and occasionally dances.